Yesterday, I addressed an inside-the-house issue of organizing my current needlework projects. I do this every so often, intending to become more efficient. If nothing else, I at least put myself to working in a specific direction, and that is always helpful!
Organization of embroidery supplies and projects is a good step towards efficiency. And if you're more efficient with some things, then it stands to reason that you'll get to spend more time actually stitching. Organizing the loose ends of various projects and gathering them together in one easily accessible spot reduces rummaging time. So this is what I set out to do yesterday.
I keep inside the house (as opposed to outside in the studio) a variety of smaller projects, and usually, they end up in a basket. Right now, though, I have a surplus of small projects I want to address in the next couple weeks, and my basket runneth over.
So I high-ho-hithered myself outside to the studio, fetched two more baskets, and set about organizing things in the order I want to address them. I failed to take a photo of the Stack of Stuff that didn't fit in that first full basket up there!
Remember this piece? I want to keep it accessible, because I like to pick it up now and then and try to make a little progress on it. So it, and all its components - pattern sheets, threads - are going in this basket (for "ongoing" projects)
You might not recognize this in its present form, but its my Schwalm embroidery project, along with all its components - and it's going in the Ongoing Projects Basket as well.
This isn't a needlework project per se, but since I'm currently reading this book, it is belongs to my "inside needlework" stuff, too.
After organizing everything, I ended up with three baskets and a book. The basket on the left is full of tools, hoops, needles, magazines, and some threads - all miscellaneous items, but things I like to have quick access to. The basket in the back is full of "ongoing projects," the projects that take a long time, but that I want accessible, because I'm still working on them. The basket in the front is full of current small projects that I will be addressing in the immediate week or so. It holds the crewel smalls I've been working on, the other two needlebook kits, some linen twill and wool threads that I'm going to be playing with today and tomorrow, and a couple other packets of threads that I will be photographing for upcoming blog posts.
The baskets fit on the floor of my bedroom closet, easily accessible when I need something, but not creating any clutter in the house. Perfect.
Going through and organizing this small collection of supplies (and a book) helped to direct my work for the next couple weeks. I was able to set goals around my organized supplies. Now I know I can work more efficiently, because I know where my immediately needed supplies are, and I can make the best use of my time.
Yes, I know it doesn't always stay this way ---- we can but try!
How do you organize your immediate needlework supplies in your house? Any organizational tips you want to share? We're all ears!
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